Yanda Aboriginal Art
Western Desert Art Specialists
Yanda Aboriginal Art was founded in 1997 by our Director Mr Christopher Simon OAM. The name Yanda refers to the sheep station in western NSW which had been in the Simon family for several generations. The property was known as Yanda Creek Station. The word “Yanda” is derived from a dialect from that region.
OUR ALICE SPRINGS GALLERY
Yanda Art at 2A/70 Todd Street, Alice Springs show cases what has been regarded as some of the finest western desert art in the country. Our expert staff will take the time to personally walk you through the gallery and share their extensive knowledge of western desert art and culture. There may also be an opportunity to meet a senior artist as they frequently visit.
YANDA ART CENTRE, ILPARPA ROAD, ILPARPA N.T. (By appointment only)
Yanda Art centre is situated on a unique rural property, a scenic 15 minute drive from Alice Springs. It features accommodation facilities for our artists, a painting studio, a major gallery show room and workshop where the finest quality Belgian linen is meticulously prepared to museum quality standards.
There is also an area set aside for traditional cooking and a swimming pool. Yanda’s studio provides our artists & their families with an inspirational yet relaxed atmosphere to truly immerse themselves in their passion for creating remarkable western desert art.
The Yanda Studio has been utilised by many of Australia’s most successful and highly-respected Aboriginal desert artists. These include Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (aka Mrs Bennett), Yannima Tommy Watson, Naata Nungarrayi, Warllimpirringa Tjapaltjarri, Esther Giles Nampitjinpa, Walala Tjapaltjarri, George Tjungarrayi, Mary Brown Napangardi, Paddy Lewis Tjapaltjarri, Tatali Napurrula, and Turkey Tolson.
Yanda Art centre on Ilparpa Road includes an extensive collection of antiquarian books pertaining to indigenous art and culture. Yanda has also financed and published books by renowned author Dr. Ken McGregor. The centre also features an impressive display of rare indigenous artefacts.
We forge very close & long term relationships with our artists. They are treated like family & are remunerated ethically. Yanda is a proud member of the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia (aboriginalart.org.au). Yanda artist Bess Nungarrayi Price is a board member of the AAAA and the Aboriginal Cultural Council.
We provide our artists with the highest quality materials including the finest Belgian linen and archival grade paints.
We provide expert advice & unrivalled client service which has created a reputation for excellence, that means many of our clients will not purchase western desert art without first consulting us.
We know how to give advice to individual collectors and companies, whether for a one-time purchase, a collection extension strategy or a constitution of collection.
Two common questions are asked about Aboriginal art. Why are there similarities between the work of artists from the same tribal-language groups, and why are the same themes and iconography depicted by different individuals. A multiple of lifetimes would not produce a definitive thesis on Aboriginal art and culture. The following summary might assist in providing partial answers.
An Aboriginal persons culture and their art are intimately linked to their country and the stories passed down from one generation to another. It is their Tjukurrpa; we call it their Dreamtime. Their Tjukurrpa is not metaphor; it exists.
Since we all differ as individuals we can expect to find variations in workmanship and interpretation according to the individual artists talent. We can not and must not compare European arts development with Aboriginal art specific to a tribal region.
The primary task of Aboriginal art – be it on modern canvas or executed traditionally in ground paintings, body paintings and petroglyphs is to express ongoing myth and distant past. With regards to “schools” of indigenous art the basic fact is not about the individual and those who follow him or her, but that of tribal groups possessing a common heritage myth, ceremony and geographical environment and tribal boundaries.
Yanda Aboriginal Art showcases works painted by Australian Indigenous artists across one of the most remote and vast areas on earth. A kaleidoscope of images, a glimpse into indigenous culture, that spectacularly shows both the diversity over vast tribal regions and the similarities in specific tribal cultures.
Chris Simon,
Director
In April 2004, director Chris Simon was duly recognised as an Individual Founder Benefactor under the terms of the Constitution of the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation.
In June 2017, Chris hosted His Excellency General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, MC (Retd), Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Her Excellency Lady Cosgrove for a tour of the Yanda artist complex in Alice Springs.
Director Chris Simon is an Honorary Senior Fellow at USC University and in 2019 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his services to the visual arts through support for and promotion of Aboriginal Art in Australia.
Yanda Art Private Library
Yanda Aboriginal Art possesses one of the most extensive collections of antiquarian books and manuscripts on Australian indigenous culture outside of public institutions. We have made the collection available to the general public.
Yanda Clients and Affiliations
-South Australian Museum
-Queensland Art Gallery Foundation
-University of the Sunshine Coast
-Benetton Group, Italy
-Imago Mundi, Benetton Collection, Italy
Auction Houses
Copyright 2019 Yanda Aboriginal Art